Review: Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover

Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover

Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover
Series: Hopeless #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: July 8th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback

In the follow-up to Colleen Hoover’s #1 New York Times bestseller Hopeless, the charming and irresistible Dean Holder tells the passionate story that has melted thousands of hearts.

In Hopeless, Sky left no secret unearthed, no feeling unshared, and no memory forgotten, but Holder’s past remained a mystery.

Still haunted by the little girl he let walk away, Holder has spent his entire life searching for her in an attempt to finally rid himself of the crushing guilt he has felt for years. But he could not have anticipated that the moment they reconnect, even greater remorse would overwhelm him…

Sometimes in life, if we wish to move forward, we must first dig deep into our past and make amends. In Losing Hope, bestselling author Colleen Hoover reveals what was going on inside Holder’s head during all those hopeless moments—and whether he can gain the peace he desperately needs.

Shit.

I… I am speechless.

Utterly floored.

I honestly cannot even begin to describe the emotions that I’m feeling right now after just finishing Losing Hope. So I’m just going to rant. And yeah, there’s gonna be some curse words in here. Cuz you just can’t rant without a little bad word here and there.

Let me just begin by saying I had every expectation of l o v i n g this book. I mean, duh, it’s Colleen Hoover! And to top it off with some sweet, sexy, 8-pack abs a cherry on top, it’s DEAN. HOLDER. Like, SA-WOON.

Dean Holder. I like, live, love this boy. This boy and his book stole a precious piece of my heart. And I’m like, you can have it. You can totally have it. JUST TAKE IT ALL OKAY? This books is filled with emotions and I felt every. single. one. Colleen Hoover, I applaud you. Absolutely bow down to you. Because you’ve done it again. You made me feel so damn much, I felt my heart was breaking a thousand times, only to have it stitched back together by your incredible words and the amount of heart and love in this beautiful book. But still. What the hell, Colleen Hoover? Are you trying to kill me over here? It wasn’t enough that with Hopeless, you broke my heart into pieces, but you had to have the nerve to write Losing Hope and rip my heart to shreds? Thanks. Thanks a lot. No, I mean it. Thank you.

Thank you for writing the most beautiful, incredible, emotional, raw, heartfelt book I’ve ever read.

What’s especially different with Losing Hope, besides the fact that it’s Hopeless from Holder’s POV, is that it’s not just everything from Hopeless. Interspersed throughout the chapters are journal entries that Holder writes to Les. We get to feel how sad and devastated and shattered Holder is from Les’s death, but we also feel how crushed and hurt and angry he is at her suicide. We get to see the events prior to the beginning of Hopeless, starting with Les’s suicide. But not everything’s depressing in Losing Hope, thank god, because we get to see how Holder slowly heals from his sister’s death with the help of Sky and his love for her. And we finally get a glimpse of the happily ever after for Holder and Sky.

Reading how Holder falls in love with Sky is just the b e s t. It was written so incredibly, I felt like I was falling a bit in love with Sky too LOL.

My all time favorite quote in the whole wide world:

“Fuck all the firsts, Sky. The only thing that matters to me with you are the forevers.”

I cried. I cried so. damn. much. It was like waterworks. And it all happened towards the end of the book. The Letter. The Favor. And The Final Chapter. Those 3 parts made me bawl and sob and wail and flail and made me look like a freaking lunatic with my nasty, red, tear-stained face. With The Letter, Holder is finally, finally absolved of all his guilt, but there’s still all this overwhelming sadness. I was only tearing up while reading The Letter, especially at the very end, and I never expected to actually cry. But then. Dean Holder. He started crying and it was just a domino effect. I started crying so, so much, tears pouring down my face because of part with The Letter, because of the whole book, but mostly for Dean Holder. This boy has been through so fucking butterflying much and it’s just like, is it finally going to end for him? Is he finally going to be able to be free of his past and his guilt? I just wanted to pick Holder out of the book, give him a huge hug, and hold him forever and forever. Of course, he wouldn’t let me, because he’s a total bamf. The sweetest bamf, still, mind you.

And oh my god, The Favor. Let me tell you, the moment he asked Sky to do him a favor, I knew, I knew exactly what the favor was going to be. It just popped right into my head. And when he said it, I started bawling and tears were just streaming down my face.

There were happy tears, but there were sad ones as well. Because how could you possibly not be saddened by a story like this? Yes, I’m happy it was a happy ending, I’m happy they survived, I’m happy they’re together and have each other. But still. As much as I loved Hopeless and Losing Hope, the subject of these books are pretty horrifying. All I can say is that if you have ever been through anything like what Sky has been through, or any trauma at all, then I hope that you have your very own Dean Holder or at least someone very much like him to be with you.

I honestly can’t say whether I loved Hopeless or Losing Hope more. But I can say that Losing Hope completely captured my heart. You should definitely read Hopeless before tackling on Losing Hope though. But I promise that you will not regret reading either of these stories.

6 BEAUTIFUL FARKING HEARTS
6-hearts

lacey

Reading Order: Hopeless series

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover Finding Cinderella by Colleen Hoover

#1 ~ Hopeless: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Losing Hope: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2.5 ~ Finding Cinderella: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

Review: Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Just One Day by Gayle Forman
Series: Just One Day #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: January 8th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback

A breathtaking journey toward self-discovery and true love, from the author of If I Stay

When sheltered American good girl Allyson “LuLu” Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance ofTwelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.

Just One Day is the first in a sweepingly romantic duet of novels. Willem’s story—Just One Year—is coming soon!

This book was absolutely AMAZING. I can’t believe I haven’t read any of Gayle Forman’s content before! (actually I’m pretty sure I did, but I don’t remember at all…) I love this book because it takes place in one of my favorite places; England. (P.S. GOING TO EUROPE THIS SUMMER HOLLAH) The journey that Allyson goes through is literally ah-freaking-mazing and I kind of wish it happened to me too, except not really. ANYWAYS.

The guys she meets is Willem and whew girl. The adventures that they both go on like OHMYGOODNESS CAN THAT PLEASE HAPPEN TO ME. WHY DON’T BRITISH GUYS APPROACH ME.

But anyways, Allyson is on a school trip, and she doesn’t want to go to a Shakespearian play with the rest of her class because she already saw it, so her friend and her go out and walk around the streets, WHICH IS WHERE THEY MEET WILLEM. And that is when sparks f l y. They decide to go to Paris together, and this is completely out of Allyson’s character because she’s that typical goody-two-shoes. So when they’re in Paris, they have amazing adventures, and she begins to fall in love with him. & he’s so so sweet to her toooooo (‘: And then they sleep and when she wakes up he’s gone. SO she goes back home, and thinks about it like FOREVER.

Eventually she goes back to Paris and tries to track him down. SO YEAH AND THEN THINGS HAPPEN; I DON’T WANT TO SPOIL IT FOR YOU ALL

BOTTOM LINE: READ. IT.

Ya’ll already know.

5-hearts

shirley

P.S. I’m sorry for my lack of reviews! I’ve actually kind of taken a hiatus on reading (brb sobbing) because of SAT boot camp. sigh I thought I would have more time because of summer vacation, but I actually have less time than I did DURING school. Anyways, I’ll try to get more reviews up though!

Reading Order: Just One Day series

Just One Day by Gayle Forman Just One Year by Gayle Forman Just One Night by Gayle Forman

#1 ~ Just One Day: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Just One Year: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#2.5 ~ Just One Night • EbookGoodreads

Review: Crush by Nicole Williams

Clash by Nicole Williams

Crush by Nicole Williams
Series: Crash #3 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: April 23rd 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback

Football glory. A giant diamond. A wandering eye.

Jude and Lucy are happily engaged . . . but that doesn’t mean life’s a bed of roses.

Once again, Jude and Lucy are torn apart by football training and a summer job that creates new tensions. This time Jude’s the one with trust issues. Will Lucy’s life-changing news bring them back together or end their relationship for good? Can love triumph forever?

God, Nicole Williams. I love you so much. Not only for writing one of my favorite series ever, but for giving me Jude Ryder. I seriously love that boy so, so much. I keep falling in love with him again and again each time I read a book in this series. And alas, Crush is the third and final book in this incredible series featuring Luce and Jude and their sweet, heartwarming romance.

I don’t really like how Goodreads gives the summary for Crush, so here’s my take: Luce and Jude still have problems in their relationship, but hey, not every relationship is perfect, right? Jude is on his way to becoming an all-star football player, and the money he’s making is getting to his head. Luce wants everything to stay the same because she’s happy with their relationship, so she’s getting pretty worried with how money will affect Jude and their relationship.

AH! Nicole Williams does an incredible job bringing the Crash series to its conclusion. Though Crush isn’t my favorite book in this series (Clash is), I still loved it. It was so nice to see how Luce and Jude deal with life in college, and how they decide on what they want in the future. I love that they’re taking their relationship seriously, questioning how they can make their relationship work and last forever. Because Luce and Jude are definitely a forever thing. They’re one of my absolute favorite couples ever, because their relationship is just so sweet, loving, passionate, and just down-to-earth and genuine. Throughout the entire series, I was just waiting for Luce and Jude to finally have the happily-ever-after they’ve been waiting for since they first met in high school, and Crush did not disappoint me. I was smiling so hard in the end, because Crush ends beautifully, leaving no doubt that the happy couple finally got their HEA.

I don’t really have much more to say, other than repeating myself over and over again how amazing this series is. I am now a huge fan of Nicole Williams and am willing to read anything she writes. I highly recommend the Crash series. It’s sweet, it’s fun, it’s romantic, and it’s got the best couple ever! The Crash series is for sure a favorite of mine, so go and get started if you haven’t already!

Since I’ve ended my reviews for both Crash and Clash with quotes from my darling Jude, here is one final quote showing just how incredibly sweet and absolutely swoon-worthy he is:

“That it doesn’t matter why I ran,” he said, staring at me without blinking, “because I came back. I’ll always come back, Luce. No matter how many rip-roaring fights we have and no matter how many miscommunications we have. I’ll always come back because you’re where I belong.”

5 hearts!

5-hearts

lacey

Reading Order: Crash series

Crash 2 by Nicole Williams Clash by Nicole Williams Crush by Nicole Williams

#1 ~ Crash: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Clash: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Crush: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

scarlet

Series: The Lunar Chronicles #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: February 5th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback

The fates of Cinder and Scarlet collide as a Lunar threat spreads across the Earth…

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Hey guys! Sorry for not reviewing in a while, school and finals week just took over my life, but it’s summer now so I have all the time in the world to review and read(: {except for SAT school but let’s not talk about that}

I remember getting this book from Lacey and thinking that I probably wasn’t going to enjoy it as much as the first book, Cinder, because it had two different point of views (Cinder’s and Scarlet’s). Normally, I don’t enjoy books with many point of views because I just want to concentrate on ONE character and I start getting confused between what is happening in whose point of view because there’s just so many feels and information going through my head. SOOO, when I started reading Scarlet, I was kind of bored, but that was also probably because I was being bias with my only one POV thing and I really did not understand why we had to read Scarlet’s story. LITTLE DID I KNOW.

I honestly loved both point of views so so much and they were both very interesting! There wasn’t an imbalance, with one being more interesting that the other.

*ALSO, IS IT JUST ME, OR am I literally the last person on Earth to realize that Cinder = Cinderella & Scarlet = Red Riding Hood. like what is wrong with me I am literally the slowest person ever.*

Anyways, if you guys have that feeling too about too many povs, try checking this book out! You might like love it like I did! I JUST TOTALLY LOVED THIS BOOK AND I DON’T THINK I EVER WENT THROUGH A BOOK SO FAST BEFORE LIKE I FINISHED IT IN ONE DAY AND I STILL had homework but you know.

I honestly canNOT wait for the 3rd book to come out next year i AM SO EXCITED

DON’T WORRY GUYS I’M STILL TEAM KAI 5EVER, BUT I ALSO LOVE WOLF AND I ALSO FREAKING LOVE THE CAPTAIN/CADET HE IS LEGIT MY FAVORITE CHARACTER EVER AND HE BETTER NOT DIE OTHERWISE I’M GOING TO BE SO MAD AND SAD.

5-hearts

shirley

Reading Order: The Lunar Chronicles

Cinder by Marissa Meyer Scarlet by Marissa Meyer Cress by Marissa Meyer Winter by Marissa Meyer

#1 ~ Cinder: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Scarlet: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Cress: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#4 ~ Winter: Goodreads (Nov. 10, 2015)

Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Dare You To by Katie McGarry
Series: Pushing the Limits #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: May 28th 2013
Purchase: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback

Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. “Dance with me, Beth.”

“No.” I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again….

“I dare you…”

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk’s home life, they’d send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom’s freedom and her own happiness. That’s how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn’t want her and going to a school that doesn’t understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn’t get her, but does….

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can’t tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn’t be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won’t let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all….

God, Katie McGarry. You are ruining my life. Not only did Dare You To cause me to not pay attention in class (because I just HAD to read during class. There was no way I was waiting til I got home to read), but also… my standards in guys are getting way. too. high. KATIE MCGARRY YOU ARE RUINING MY LIFE AND I LOVE YOU FOR IT.

In case you didn’t already know this, I loved Pushing the Limits. Like, loved loved loved it. It’s one of my favorite books of all time, and one of the few books that have made my cry a huge, sobbing mess. I rarely ever cry for books (I get teary-eyed more often than crying), but Pushing the Limits was just… incredible. Heart-wrenching. Absolutely fantastic. So if you haven’t read it, you should definitely check it out. But Dare You To is quite different than Pushing the Limits. It has a whole different feel to it that is still simply amazing. We have already been introduced to Beth in Pushing the Limits, and her story is with Ryan. I was pretty surprised when I found out that Beth wouldn’t end up with Isaiah (whose book I am SO EXCITED to read!!!). But of course Katie McGarry would find a way to make everything work out in the end. And it did!

Beth, at the start, is basically… a bitch. She’s very mean and pissy to everyone, including her uncle, Scott, and Ryan. But the thing is, I still liked her character. Yes, she gets very frustrating because of her hesitance and reluctance to have a relationship with Ryan, but I never hated or disliked her for her bitchy behavior. And honestly, her attitude is pretty reasonable, considering her mother is a drunk, a drug abuser, in love with her abusive boyfriend, and doesn’t give a crap about Beth. Beth’s deadbeat father left when she was young. She had no adult to take responsibility for herself and had to grow up on her own. So she’s definitely a tough girl. What I loved and was sad to see go away is Beth’s friendship with Noah and Isaiah. Once she moves in with her Uncle Scott, he wants her to cut all ties to her old life, including Noah and Isaiah. She meets up with them once or twice (and we get to see Echo!!!), but overall, she knows that she’s done with her old life. She’ll never have any best friends as awesome as Noah and Isaiah, but she can’t keep living in the past anymore. She has to move on, and Ryan is a huge part of that process.

Ryan Stone. *swoon* Ryan is probably one of the sweetest, most incredible boys I’ve ever read. He’s not a bad boy. He’s a good guy through and through. I never expected to like reading about a jock, and a baseball player at that, but Ryan is just… amazing. I fell completely in love with him and his heartwarming gestures. Katie McGarry is able to write him in such a way that he has depth, that shows us how much he loves baseball, and that he’s so much more than a jock. And he loves to write too! Rarely do I ever read about a guy who loves to write and can write well, so it was a nice and refreshing change, one that made Ryan all the more endearing.

And that bottle of rain. So. Damn. Sweet. My heart was going wonky for him during that scene.

One thing I love is that Beth is very straightforward. From Pushing the Limits, we know that Isaiah is in love with Beth, but we’re not sure if she feels the same way. In Dare You To, once she meets Ryan and finds a connection with him, she knows that she’ll never return Isaiah’s feelings, because she loves Ryan. And I was so glad that she got that. She shot Isaiah straight down, didn’t allow him to be strung along on a love that would never work. I really liked that about Beth, admired and respected her for it.

I loved seeing both Beth and Ryan grow and mature throughout the book. And the ending was so intense! So did not expect that. Basically, I loved everything about Dare You To, and am so so so excited for the 3rd book in the series to come out! I am 1000% sure that Isaiah’s story will be perfection.

5 hearts
lacey

Reading Order: Pushing the Limits series

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry Crossing the Line by Katie McGarry Breaking the Rules by Katie McGarry
Dare You To by Katie McGarry Crash Into You by Katie McGarry Take Me On by Katie McGarry

#1 ~ Pushing the Limits: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#1.1 ~ Crossing the Line: Ebook • Goodreads
#1.5 ~ Breaking the Rules: My Review • Ebook • Goodreads
#2 ~ Dare You To: Shirley’s Review • Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Crash into You: My Review • Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#4 ~ Take Me On: Ebook • Hardcover • Goodreads